Private sector tech company supports municipal broadband

Here are some excerpts from a letter Alcatel-Lucent Vice President Michael A. Dobbs recently sent to the sponsors of HB 1252. Notice the reference to next-generation broadband: Alcatel-Lucent is the leading supplier of broadband access networks worldwide, with over 20,000 employees in the United States, including approximately 1000 employees in North Carolina at our Cary, [...]

Bill up for a vote Wednesday, May 6th

Word on the street is that HB 1252, the bill that would stop NC cities and towns from providing better broadband service will come up for a vote on Wednesday, May 6th at 10am in the Public Utilities Committee in room 1228 of the Legislative Building on Jones Street. You can sign up to receive [...]

Déjà vu for HB 1252

Two years ago, in the 2007 NC Legislative session, a bill that is very similar to HB 1252 was introduced in the Public Utilities committee. It had essentially the same new, burdensome legislation as this year’s bill but for a very different reason. The other side, through two lawmakers, said NC cities needed legislation to [...]

Heads up, another push poll is here.

Phones are ringing in Wilson. There’s a new poll about HB 1252 that is apparently designed with leading questions about municipal broadband. It includes questions that, as a friend put it, can’t possibly be answered correctly without siding with certain cable and or telco providers. I’m guessing a couple of the industry execs will use [...]

The Beginning of Greenlight

Many of you have asked how the City of Wilson’s fiber network began. Here’s a short history: The network began in 2006 as a fiber optic connection between City facilities including offices, payment centers, recreation centers, Police buildings, fire stations and other locations. It was created after persistent reliability issues with the previous provider. The [...]

Letter to lawmakers from visitor

Many of you have asked for a letter to send to lawmakers. Here’s one that Lumineux sent today. Thanks, Lumineux. Hi everyone, Brian, setting up this blog was a great idea. I have written to the representatives, plus my local representative and senator. Here is what I wrote to them: I am writing to you [...]

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Folks, you are amazing. The support coming in from so many places is overwhelming; Argentina, New Zealand, Ontario. More than 12,000 hits yesterday. It’s encouraging to hear from so many people who understand the importance of better broadband. When we first started this network, we ran into a few people who thought their speeds were [...]

City of Raleigh stands up for better access

The City of Raleigh passed a resolution this week casting doubt on the ‘level playing field’ mentioned in HB 1252. They understand that these bills (HB 1252/ SB1004) affect every NC city’s and town’s ability to improve communication infrastructure. For instance, the bills would prohibit municipalities from moving funds into or out of its broadband [...]

“How can I help?”

First, let me say thanks to all of you who have offered to help. Your response is overwhelming and we really, truly appreciate it. If you live in NC, I’ve posted the contact information for the Legislators who will see the bill next, the NC House Public Utilities Commitee. This group did not sponsor the [...]

Do over: House Bill moves to new committee

Okay, folks, this is a bit dry but here’s what happened today. I would have posted sooner, but couldn’t get a decent wireless signal in the legislative office building. House Bill 1252, the one that would prevent local governments from providing better broadband in NC was -not- voted on today in the Science and Technology [...]